NYT: Israel's Gun Policy Is Restrictive, Despite What Some May Think

Israeli children play with a rifle as they visit an Israeli army weapons exhibition in the Gush Ezion settlements area on May 8, 2008 during celebrations for the 60th anniversary of Israel?s creation. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a strict advocate of gun rights, last week said tight security protects Israel from mass shootings, but Israel has laws in place that carefully control who can own and carry a gun, according to The New York Times.

Huckabee made the statement following a mass shooting at a high school in Florida where a former student opened fire, killing 17 and injuring at least 17. The shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, had obtained at least 10 firearms, all of them rifles, in the last year or so. Two of the sales followed normal protocol for Florida firearms purchases, according to a CNN report.

But Israel’s gun laws are very different. Applicants must have a signed bill of health from their doctor, go through a background check and be at least 21 with military service or national service – 27 otherwise. Gun licenses have to be renewed every three years, and gun owners must complete an annual practice at a shooting range. There are very few applications that are accepted, and those who do receive licenses are only allowed to purchase 9 mm pistols; rifles are reserved for people who need them for ongoing security roles.

Bullets are limited, too. Individuals are only allowed 50 per year while security guards can purchase 100.

On Twitter, Huckabee said that Israel had “pretty much eliminated” school shootings by “placing highly trained people strategically to spot the one common thread — not the weapon, but a person with intent.”

Just waking up in Israel to news of heartbreaking school shooting in FL; Reminded that Israel pretty much eliminated it by placing highly trained people strategically to spot the one common thread--not the weapon, but a person with intent. #PrayForParkland

“As we are a people’s army, a lot of the population has at least undergone basic training and knows how to handle and conduct themselves with a weapon,” Simon Perry, a criminologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told the Times. “We don’t have a gun fetish here,” he added.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a strict advocate of gun rights, last week said tight security protects Israel from mass shootings, but Israel has laws in place that carefully control who can own and carry a gun, according to The New York Times.Huckabee made the...